Saturday 23 February 2019

Debt settlement fund exempts 3,310 Emiratis

Debt settlement fund exempts 3,310 Emiratis:

The debt settlement fund in the UAE has announced the exemption of 3,310 Emiratis from their debt in cooperation with 13 local banks, the state news agency WAM announced on Saturday.

Jaber Mohammed Al-Suwaidi, Director General of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court, Chairman of the Higher Committee for the Treatment of Distressed Debt, said this initiative comes within the framework of the keen leadership of the United Arab Emirates to secure the living conditions of citizens and their interest in enhancing their family stability.

He explained that the initiative is particularly important to coincide with the "Year of Tolerance" announced by His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE.

‘White knight’ investors rescue #Dubai’s distressed projects

‘White knight’ investors rescue Dubai’s distressed projects:

“White knights” are again getting active in Dubai’s real estate market, picking up distressed plots and projects and trying to make them viable again.

Such investors are also providing a much-needed safety net to the wider market, ensuring that delayed or shelved projects — and the ensuing angry property buyers who have put money into these — are as few as possible.

Dubai’s real estate authorities are also doing their bit by signing off on the revival plans as soon as the new investor manages to clear all payments and other legal obligations on the distressed asset. There is a review process underway to “expedite revival of stalled projects, and this could lead to renewed interest in distressed projects,” one source said.

Shareholders of India’s Jet Airways approve debt-for-equity swap

Shareholders of India’s Jet Airways approve debt-for-equity swap:

India’s Jet Airways said late on Friday that its shareholders approved a plan to convert existing debt to equity, paving the way for the troubled company’s lenders to infuse funds and nominate directors to its board.

Jet’s board last week approved a plan by lenders, led by State Bank of India, for an equity infusion, debt restructuring and the sale or sale-and-lease-back of aircraft.

The plan will mean the lenders will have a bigger holding than any other shareholder.

The week in energy: #SaudiArabia’s nuclear ambitions | Financial Times

The week in energy: Saudi Arabia’s nuclear ambitions | Financial Times:

It was the US that started Iran’s nuclear programme in the 1950s, providing Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi with the country’s first research reactor and the enriched uranium needed to fuel it. The intention was always to support a civil rather than a military programme, and both the Ford and Carter administrations sought to stop the Shah acquiring nuclear weapons. But the US remained prepared to help him develop reactors for electricity generation, provided concerns about the risks of proliferation could be assuaged. In 1976, US utilities even used the Iranian nuclear programme in adverts to make the case for investment in new reactors at home. “The Shah of Iran is sitting on top of one of the largest reservoirs of oil in the world. Yet he’s building two nuclear plants,” the text read. “He knows the oil is running out — and time with it.” The US and Iran eventually reached an agreement that satisfied the Carter administration’s concerns in 1978, but the Shah’s downfall in the Iranian revolution the following year brought nuclear co-operation to a halt.

The Next Shale Fracker Revolution Has Begun - Bloomberg

The Next Shale Fracker Revolution Has Begun - Bloomberg:

Successful revolutions must eventually grapple with the question of what to do with that success. The shale revolution is grappling with that right now.

Two veteran shale executives, Tim Dove and Floyd Wilson, have just stepped down from the top jobs at Pioneer Natural Resources Co. and Halcón Resources Corp., respectively. Dove had set a goal of quadrupling Pioneer’s output to 1 million barrels of oil equivalent within a decade, but the spending required has started to grate on investors. Wilson, meanwhile, sold his old company, Petrohawk Energy Corp. to BHP Group Plc (who eventually sold it onto BP Plc after some unhappy times), and then launched Halcón, which lost money, saw its stock collapse, and wound up drawing the attentions of an activist fund.

And that was just overnight. On Friday morning, another activist, Kimmeridge Energy Management Co., announced it had taken a stake in PDC Energy Inc., an exploration and production company with operations in Colorado and Texas. Kimmeridge wants PDC to overhaul its financial priorities, costs, governance and maybe, given the line about “considering all strategic alternatives,” its entire identity.

Oil Posts Weekly Advance on Trade Talks, OPEC Commitment - Bloomberg

Oil Posts Weekly Advance on Trade Talks, OPEC Commitment - Bloomberg:

Oil in New York posted a second straight weekly advance as investors focus on talks between the U.S. and China on trade and as OPEC shows commitment to curbing production.

Futures added 0.5 percent in New York on Friday to the highest in more than three months. Trade talks in Washington between a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. officials on Friday were extended after showing signs of progress. Speaking through an interpreter, Liu said a deal with the U.S. is very likely to happen.

In regards to a potential U.S.-China trade agreement, “there is certainly the expectation that it might occur in the not-too-distant future,” said Bart Melek, head of global commodity strategy at TD Securities in Toronto. “Saudi Arabia has expressed that they are willing to cut supply to make sure the market is balanced.”